• The 20th-ranked UWF football team travels to Hickory, N.C. for the Super Region 2 title game in the 2019 NCAA Division II Football Playoffs against No. 2 seed and No. 6 ranked Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time/Noon CT.
• Saturday's game features the last two recipients of the AFCA Division II National Coach of the Year Award in Pete Shinnick (2017) and Drew Cronic (2018).
• The winner of the game will advance to the national semifinals next Saturday against an opponent to be determined after the national committee re-seeds the final four teams.

ABOUT UWF
• UWF enters the game at 10-2 overall and finished second in the Gulf South Conference with a school-record of 8-1. The Argonauts have established additional school records for home wins (5), longest winning streak (7) and best start.
• The Argo offense is averaging 400.3 yards per game which ranks third in the GSC and 55th nationally. The 248.9 passing yards per game is also third in the league and 42nd in the country.
• Not to be outdone, the UWF defense has been lights out all season and ranks 51st in the NCAA, allowing 330.2 yards per game. The scoring defense of 16.9 points per game is 14th nationally. The Argos are 14th in the country in red zone defense, 26th in fewest passing yards allowed and third in fumbles recovered with 16. The UWF defense has forced at least one turnover in every game this season and in 45 of the 49 games in program history
• On special teams, UWF is second nationally in net punting - after ranking 12th in the country in 2018 - and 38th in punt return defense. They average 7.3 yards per punt return and 22.7 yards per kickoff return. Sophomore Dawson Hamlin was named Second Team All-GSC and is tied for third in the country with a 44.1 average.

ABOUT LENOIR-RHYNE
• No. 2 seed and sixth-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne enters the Super Region 2 title game with a 13-0 record won a D2-best 15-consecutive home games at Moretz Stadium.
• The Bears have a strong offense, averaging 425.2 yards per game and 42.3 points per contest. They are built around a running game that posts 267.8 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry. Ameen Stevens had 810 yards and 17 TDs with 67.5 yards per game. 
• On defense, L-R has the seventh-ranked scoring defense in the country at  15.5 points per game. The Bears' rushing defense is eighth nationally at just 81.3 ypg. The big reason for much of that is Harlon Hill finalist Jaquan Artis who spends a lot of his Saturday's hanging out with the opposing quarterback, ranking seventh in the country with 14.5 sacks and 11 QB hurries. He is a big reason L-R ranks No. 2 in the nation in team sacks with 3.69 spg.

SERIES HISTORY
• This marks the first meeting between the teams in football.
• UWF is 3-1 against SAC schools, collecting NCAA Playoff victories on the road against Wingate in 2017 and two weeks ago, while splitting the season-openers with Carson-Newman the last two years. UWF won at home in 2018 and lost in Jefferson City in 2019.

SHINNICK BITE
• Pete Shinnick was hired as the first head coach in program history on Feb. 2, 2014. The Colorado graduate (1988) is 32-17 in four seasons at UWF.
• He is 135-63 in his 18th season as a head coach, with previous stops at UNC Pembroke (50-24 from 2007-13) and Azusa Pacific (53-22 from 1999-2005).
• Shinnick was named the 2017 AFCA & D2Football.com Division 2 National Coach of the Year after leading the Argonauts to the national championship game in just the second season of play. He was also the AFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year.
• With last week's victory over Valdosta State, he improved to 6-3 as a head coach in the Division II Playoffs.
• He was 0-2 at UNC Pembroke. His 2009 team was ranked 13th before losing to Arkansas Tech, 41-13, on the road in Russellville, Ark. In 2013, the 8th-ranked and 2nd-seeded Braves had a first-round bye but fell to 16th-ranked and 3rd seeded North Alabama, 37-13, in Pemboke, N.C.
• He also went 2-5 in the NAIA Playoffs while at Azuza Pacific from 1999-2005. The Cougars reached the national semifinals in 1999 & 2004.
• While his UNC Pembroke teams never faced Lenoir-Rhyne when he was with the Braves, he did serve as the recruiting coordinator at Oregon State from 1992-93 when former L-R head coach Ian Shields played for the Beavers.

UWF MAKES NCAA HISTORY AGAIN
• By virtue of its bid to the 2019 NCAA Playoffs, UWF has become the first football team in NCAA history to earn a postseason bid twice in the first four years of the program's existence.
• Two years ago the Argonauts made history with their first-ever tourney appearance, becoming the fastest startup program to reach the postseason. They followed that up with four-consecutive wins - all on the road against Top 25 teams - to reach the NCAA D2 National Championship Game.

PLAYOFF ROAD WARRIORS
• UWF has played seven NCAA Playoff games in its young history with six of those on the road. The Argos are 6-0 in road playoff games, going 4-0 two years ago en route to the national championship game and 2-0 this season.
• In the last three years, UWF and Texas A&M-Commerce are the only schools to win as many playoff games away from home.

ARGOS ROAD SUCCESS CONTINUES YEAR AFTER YEAR
• UWF has gone 5-2 on the road this season. The five wins are tied for the second-highest total in the country. Eight schools have six road wins in 2019, including Texas A&M Commerce and Notre Dame (Ohio) who both play on the road this week.
• The Argonauts are 19-9 all-time on the road in four seasons of play, including an 8-1 mark two years ago when they tied Harding for the most road victories in the country.
• After a 2-4 road mark in the 2016 inaugural season, UWF has had a winning record away from home each year - 8-1, 4-2 and 5-2.

UWF WITH TOUGHEST OWP IN SUPER REGION 2
• According to the NCAA metrics on Strength of Schedule, UWF is facing the toughest schedule in Super Region 2 this season and the second toughest nationally.
• UWF's cumulative opposition's record is 81-39 for a .675 winning pct. A&M Commerce's mark is 96-40 (.706).
• Lenoir-Rhyne's cumulative opposition schedule is .570 (81-61), ranking 35th.

UWF WITH SUCCESS AGAINST UNDEFEATED TEAMS
• This week's game against unbeaten Lenoir-Rhyne marks the 15th UWF opponent to enter the game without a loss at the time of the meeting. The Argonauts are 9-5 in those contests following the win over 10-0 Valdosta State last week.

UWF KNOCKS OFF DEFENDING CHAMP VALDOSTA STATE
• UWF executed a 75-yard scoring drive in 2:06 and scored the winning TD on a 1-yard Anthony Johnson, Jr. run with 6 seconds left to upset the Blazers, 38-35, in Valdosta last week.
• Tate Lehtio caught a school-record 14 passes for a career-high 140 yards. He was targeted 15 times with the one non-catch being a ball thrown behind him on a QB scramble. He caught five passes for 62 yards on the final drive, including a 4th-and-8 for 15 yards and a 3rd-and-Goal that put UWF at the 1-foot line to setup the winning play.
• Johnson ran for 73 yards on 18 carries with three TD.
• Austin Reed was 25-for-37 for 298 yards with a TD. In addition to Lehtio's effort, Quentin Randolph had 72 yards receiving and Ka'Ron Ashley had 52 yards, including a 33-yard TD with 12 seconds remaining in the first half.
• UWF led 3-0 on a 27-yard Austin Williams FG on its first possession. It was the first time the Argonauts had not spotted the Blazers a 17-0 lead in the 5-game series. After VSU went up 7-3, UWF scored three TDs to lead 24-7. UWF led 31-14 at the end of the third quarter.
• UWF was 4-of-4 on 4th downs ... The Argos committed just five penalities for 35 yards.
• The win snapped VSU's Gulf South Conference record 25-game winning streak and it's 13-game home streak at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. It was also the first time UWF beat VSU in five all-time meetings.

UWF DOMINATES WINGATE IN NCAA FIRST ROUND
• UWF scored 31 unanswered points and forced three turnovers to defeat fourth-seeded Wingate, 38-17, in the first round two weeks ago.
• Anthony Johnson, Jr. ran for 109 yards on 19 carries as UWF advanced to the second round for the second time in as many appearances. The Argos rushed for 195 yards and outgained the Bulldogs 360-264 overall.
• Austin Reed threw for 165 yards with eight completions and three of those going for touchdowns. Tate Lehtio led the team with five receptions for 81 yards a score.
• Quentin Randolph followed last week's career game with two more touchdowns on two catches. He has now caught five touchdowns in his last nine receptions.

RECORD 11 ARGOS NAMED TO ALL-GSC TEAMS
• For the third-consecutive year the UWF football team had a record number of student-athletes recognized by the Gulf South Conference as all-league performers, including quarterback Austin Reed who was named the Offensive Freshman of the Year.
• First team representatives included running back Shomari Mason, wide receiver Tate Lehtio, offensive tackle Samuel Antoine, defensive lineman Ian Bush, nickelback Trent Archie and special teams utility player De'Marco Artis.
• Argos on the second team were Reed, wide receiver Quentin Randolph, offensive guard Joe Wintrick, linebacker Kedrick Bradley and punter Dawson Hamlin.

DEFENSE CONTINUES TO BE THE ARGOS' CALLING CARD
• The UWF defense has been solid just about every week this season. The Argonauts rank first or second in the GSC in scoring defense, total defense, passing defense, red zone defense, QB sacks, turnovers gained, first downs allowed, third down defense and fourth down defense.
• UWF ranks 14th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 203 points for 16.9 points per game and has given up only 25 TD (15 rushing/8 passing/2 INT) this season.
• The defense was especially stout from halftime of the Shorter game through the Valdosta State contest (7 and a half games), allowing just 10 TD in those 30 quarters.

D GETTING STINGIER AS THE GAME GOES ON
• The UWF defense has been strong all season, but especially in the second half. UWF has allowed 92 second half points for a 7.6 points per half average. They have had three second half shutouts.
• The Argos have allowed just three touchdowns in the third quarter (1 each by Carson-Newman, Florida Tech and last week at Valdosta State) and nine TD and two FG in the fourth quarter.
• UWF has made excellent halftime adjustments, allowing fewer yards in the second half than the first in eight games this season (it had the potential to be nine but UWG went from 48 to 88 yards in that contest). The biggest changes came against Valdosta State in the first meeting when the Blazers went from 20 points and 374 yards to six points and 98 yards.
• Additionally, they have held six teams to less than 100 yards after halftime.

ARGOS HAVE FORCED TURNOVERS IN 45 OF 49 GAMES
• The UWF defense forced a school-record six turnovers earlier this season at West Georgia, and four more at Florida Tech last month. A pair of  forced fumbles last week at Wingate extended the streak of consecutive games with a turnover to 11. The last time UWF didn't record a turnover was the finale at West Alabama last year.
• Further inspection shows the Argonauts have gotten at least one turnover in 45 of their 49 all-time games. UWF is 31-12 when getting a turnover and 1-5 when unable to force a sudden change.
• UWF finished 2018 with 15 fumble recoveries to rank first nationally and 10 interceptions - including a pick 6 by David Richardson against FIT and another by Jamel Jackson at North Greenville. The Argos did not get a turnover in the finale at West Alabama, ending their streak of games with at least one turnover at 12 games.
• The turnover prize for UWF is a navy blue Turnover Shield and was created by Defensive Coordinator Darian Dulin prior to the 2018 campaign. The 3-inch round wooden disk has a large UWF logo on a navy blue background. The shield, which is a replica of what Jason and Argonauts may have used, is then signed in silver marker by the player(s) who had a hand in creating the turnover.

ARGOS CLUTCH ON 3RD & 4TH DOWNS
• UWF ranks in the top 13 nationally in both 3rd & 4th Down Conversion pct.
• The Argos are 13th in the NCAA in 3rd Down play, converting 71-of-145 attempts for 49.3 pct.
• UWF has gone for 4th Downs 11 times and been successful 8 times for a 72.7 pct. rate - good for 5th in the country. L-R is 14-of-19 for 73.7 pct. and fourth in the country.

PLAYING SMART
• UWF has averaged 57.4 penalty yards per game this season to rank 60th in the country.
• But in the last six games, the Argos have averaged just 37.3 yards on 31 total penalties, with no more than violations in any of those contests.
• In the two playoff games, the team has been whistled for 35 yards in each game.

WHOA! ARGOS LOVING THE RED (ZONE)
• If Joey Russo's character from the hit sitcom 'Blossom' was watching the Argos this season, he might blurt out his catch phrase of 'WHOA!' numerous times during a game. That's because UWF has converted 44 of 50 times inside the red zone this season. That 88 pct. rate ranks 22nd in the country.
• On the flip side of that, UWF ranks 14th in the country after allowing the opposition just a 56.7 percent conversion rate (23-of-35) inside the 20-yard line. Opponents have scored just 14 TDs and nine FGs in the red zone on 35 trips. The Argos have surrendered just six passing TDs inside the Red Zone.

REED LAYING FOUNDATION FOR SPECIAL CAREER
• Redshirt freshman QB Austin Reed became the third player in program history to win a GSC Freshman of the Year award this season, joining current senior LB Trent Archie (Defensive FOY in 2016) and former QB Mike Beaudry (Offensive FOY in 2017).
• The St. Augustine, Fla. native averages 241.8 passing yards per game, has 29 passing TDs and a passing efficiency rating of 147.8.
• He is the first quarterback in program history to win his first seven starts and is currently 10-1 as a starter. Kaleb Nobles and Mike Beaudry each won their first two games as starters in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Beaudry holds the UWF records for wins as a starter with 10. Nobles is third with six and Sam Vaughn is fourth with five.

RANDOLPH, LEHTIO LEADING DEEP RECEIVER CORPS
• UWF has a strong group of receivers led by senior All-GSC selections Quentin Randolph and Tate Lehtio. Lehtio paces the team with 69 receptions for 66.1 yards per game and Randolph has 744 yards with seven touchdowns and 62.0 yards per game. He ranks 16th nationally with 20.7 yards per reception.
• Randolph leads UWF with 14 20-plus yard plays. Kevin Grant is second with seven (3 for a TD) and Shomari Mason is third with six. Not to be outdone, Ka'Ron Ashley has six catches of at least 20 yards and Tate Lehtio has four, with three of Ashley's going for TD.
• The Argos have tossed 17 of their 40 20-yard passes for scores and three of their seven long play runs for a TD.

LEHTIO SETS UWF RECEPTIONS RECORDS...
• Senior WR Tate Lehtio pulled down his 137th career reception in the home win over Mississippi College, moving past Antoine Griffin for the most receptions in school history. Lehtio (Lee-tee-oh) now has 189 receptions. With his 75-yard day at Florida Tech, he passed Griffin on the career receiving yards list and now has 2,136. Griffin held that mark with 1,697 from 2016-18.
• His 189 receptions rank ninth among active Division 2 players and 45th among all NCAA division players.

... AND HE'S ALSO KINDA SMART
• Lehtio is also an Academic All-District selection this year. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Business and a 3.3 GPA last December and is currently enrolled in the MBA program at UWF. He is a 2-time Gulf South Conference Academic  Honor Roll recipient after being voted onto the team by the league SIDs both years of his eligibility.

RUNNING BACK BY COMMITTEE
• The UWF rushing offense ranks 88th in the country and seventh in the GSC at 147.3 yards per game. While that may not seem like daunting numbers, with the team's pass-oriented attack, the numbers are actually the best in program history, progressing higher than the previous season in each year of the program.
• The Argos have attacked the ground game with a quartet or rushers in junior Anthony Johnson, Jr., sophomore Jervon Newton, freshman Shomari Mason and sophomore Jaden Gardner - three of which rank in the top 20 of the GSC.
• Johnson is the elder statesman and leader of the group. He has a team-high 541 yards on 121 rushes in 2019 for a 4.4 yards per carry avg. and four TD. He rushed for 109 yards on 19 carries with a TD in the playoff opener at Wingate two weeks ago. He tied the school record with three TD last week at Valdosta State.
• Newton is second in the group with 42,5 yards per game and a 4.4 yards per carry average, including two 100-yard performances. After missing the West Alabama and Wingate games, he returned against Valdosta State to rush for 55 yards and a TD on 10 carries with zero yards lost.
• Mason is arguably the most explosive in the group and has 416 yards on 64 carries for an eye-popping 7.7 per carry avg. - the third highest in the GSC and the highest by a RB. He has a pair of 100-yard performances against Delta State and at Florida Tech. He suffered a knee injury against West Alabama in the regular-season finale and is out for the remainder of the season.
• Gardner also has breakaway speed and is putting up 3.2 yards per rush over 70 carries. He had 15 rushes for 55 yards and a TD at Wingate.

WILLIAMS RESUMES PURSUIT OF GSC FIELD GOAL RECORD
• Senior PK Austin Williams made a 27-yard field goal last week at Valdosta State, pushing his career total to 44 and moving into fifth place on the Gulf South Conference career field goals made list. Those 44 place him sixth among active Division 2 kickers in the country.
• He is just 5-for-12 on the season but has made 4-of-6 in the last six games and one each in the two NCAA Playoff contests.
• Additionally, he now has 250 career points, extending his total as the program's all-time leading scorer. He has 44 career field goals and 120 career extra points.